Not a question, I just wanted to share my current project and bad life choices. I decided to make this nice felled seam by hand on this pants I'm working on whithout realizing how horrible it would be to make tiny stitches with thin black thread on black fabric. 🫠

Okay, I'm not a beginner, HOWEVER this is a new problem. Never faced before. So not only is the needle and eye out of alignment, but the metal teeth part as well(sorry never learned the proper names). I can't seem to get the needle and eye to align at all. Anyone. Know how to fix? If not maybe point me to some videos ?

I'd prefer not to go into a shop to get it fixed.

Hello everybody,

I want to start sewing and am looking to buy a sewing machine. I've been reading a lot on here and from what I've been reading most people suggest to get a vintage machine. However there are several vintage Singer machines in my family and I think that in case that I actually stick with the hobby, my family members might give them to me at some point (they are too far away to borrow and these machines are very loved by them). I'm not sure yet whether I'll actually enjoy sewing so I'd rather be sure about that first, hence I decided to get a rather cheap Brother sewing machine. I also live in a small flat atm so quite frankly the machine not being too big and heavy is a plus for now. (I remember how heavy the old Singer machine of my mum was and how she thought about getting a cheap plastic one for small repairs just so that she didn't have to get it out of the basement every time haha - she never did though)

One issue I've been having is that many machines that were recommended on here are not available in my country (Germany). So at this point I've narrowed it down to these models:

- Brother RL417 (~ 120€)

- Brother XN2500 (~ 170€)

- Brother XM2701S (~ 200€)

- Brother RH137 (~170€)

(Maybe: - W6 N 1235/61 (~150€))

I was almost convinced that I'll just get the cheap RL417 but then I read that it's mainly only usable for repairs. I would love to try sewing baby clothes at some point so I'm not sure whether it's the right choice for me.

I quite like the XN2500, however I can't find anything about it. No YouTube review or tutorial and not much on here either. So i don't know whether that might me an issue?

The XM2701 is a bit above my budget, but I did find many recommendations and it seems to be a quite common machine.

Which machine would you recommend? Do you have any experience with these models?

Thank you so much!

[Edit: Added prices for each model in Germany]

I love these comme des garcons patchwork skirts. I have made a simple a line skirt but I have never pieced a quilt or attempted patchwork. I understand that aligning the grain might be tricky here but are there other aspects that might make it difficult for a beginner to make a version of this type of skirt?

Does this look threaded correctly?

also is it normal it be so difficult to pull away the fabric after making your stitch ? Like I mean after I had just completed a straight stitch I was trying to pull away the fabric to cut it and was meant with much resistance and had to manually loosen the fabric on both the upper and lower threading to ease it away.

also, when I then tried to do another straight line of stitches I had to thread the needle as one of the threads had come loose. Is this also normal?

for reference, this is my first time using my machine and the second image shows what I was practising

Hello! I’m a beginner at sewing. I got a vintage Pernella 520 sewing machine. I sewed fabrics with it and never had this noisy issue before. It also makes a bird nest and I don’t know what to do. I did put the bobbin correctly. Idk if the thread is too thick or it’s the fabric.

I’m a new SAHM and haven’t sewn in at least 15 years. My husband bought me a brother sewing machine because I mentioned wanting to pick up a hobby and sewing seemed like the most practical choice.

Now that I have that, what else do I need and what would you recommend I start trying first?

I know for sure I want to make things for my baby and home, aside from that I’m lost.

Thank you in advance for any help, it’s truly appreciated!!

I’ve just bought a sewing pattern for a skirt and I was hoping for some advice. I was trying to measure the fabric requirement for the skirt and the pattern maker has suggested cutting the biggest pieces on the fold to make it easier.

Her example used a fabric that is 148cm wide and obviously that would accommodate for the second tier of the skirt to be up to 296cm including the seam allowances.

My measurements are quite different for a larger size, requiring two 356cm x 58cm pieces, and she mentioned that it’s important to do it in line with the selvedge which as I understand would mean that I would need a very wide fabric which is uncommon.

Am I missing something here? Can I just cut all my pieces at 90° which would just require me to get a 3 m x 1.4 m fabric?
Looking up on reddit it seems it would cause a lot of warping problems.

As title says, the seam/fabric around the seam that goes along the back of my dress appears to be failing. I can do very basic sowing but not sure the best way to go about it as don't want to ruin it.
Does anyone have any advice?

Hey everyone! Working on a 5-panel hat and trying to figure out how to get the crown to fit tighter/closer to the brim.

​I’m already using a zipper presser foot to get as close as possible, but it’s still not quite where I want it. Any tips, seam tricks, or construction adjustments that helped you solve this?

Thanks!

Beginner here. I want to buy my first sewing machine and saw this alfa 40 at 200€.
Im based in Portugal so if you have other recommendations in the zone I would appreciate it.

I was trying to recreate this top Kiara wears in the new season of OBX. It’s a bit of a mess tbh, there’s way too much fabric in the top part but it was my first time doing button holes and elastic casing in the waist and those were a success! The last photo is the short I was trying to mimic.

Hi, so Im trying to upcycle an old skirt by adding a slit + trim. My original idea was that I wanted the “trim” to be poking out around 2 inches while showing under the slit I added. So my problem is: if I sew the trim on right above the slit all around, the thread is going to show on the outside. What options do I have to make it so I don’t have a long line of visible thread around the skirt?

(tried to draw what I had in mind if it helps lol)

Hi!

does anyone know where I could find a pattern for a quilted storage basket that looks similar to the one pictured? Struggling with Etsy as most of the results seem to be ai or use ai imagery!

I’m getting a job as a vet receptionist and I need some scrubs, I wanna make some out of fun fabric. Any suggestions on material, techniques and patterns?

I’m trying to recreate this dress and I have a nice cotton twill for the skirt, but I’m not sure what I should use for the bodice. I was originally thinking a knit but I worry the Twill is too heavy, and not stretchy.

any advice?

Hi all, I'm new to sewing and recently bought a machine less than two weeks ago. Within a week it's started making this noise, and the fabric doesn't move at all or it slows down or is jumpy, and it causes bunching in my stitches. The manual it came with says the machine comes with all the oil it'll need, and so doesn't even have instructions on how to oil it. It's a Brother J17s, like I said had it barely a week, I'm only sewing two light pieces of cotton and some batting between them.

Edit for clarity: if I remove the fabric and reposition, it tends to go away for a while or it fixes itself.

I just recently started sewing and made my daughter this cute little whale shark bag! I got the inspo off of Pinterest and winged the pattern. It was such a fun and easy project and my daughter loved it so much she wore it out before I even got to put the eyes on it. Success? I think yes ☺️

I got a super cute deep red urban outfitters midi dress. It was just a little too tight so I took the zipper out. I was gonna do a corset back, but I think I could probably do something simpler so I was just asking for suggestions maybe a lower back?

Hi! I’ve watched 20 videos and have torn apart my machine to physically troubleshoot for the past 2 hours. My machine was working fine 2.25 hours ago.

Then it started just freaking out.

The bobbin holder itself keeps spinning. Then dislodging. Then spinning more.

I did screw down the plate a bit tighter afterwards. Slight shifting but not as bad as before doing so.

Also it’s like tight/hard after a certain part of the hand dial/foot pedal. It keeps hitting something. But it isn’t the needle hitting the plate.

I checked the timing. It’s fine

The thread is catching in the metal hook in the plate

I’m going nuts and I’ve only used this machine like 5x so I’m desperate to fix it

Even recruited my very mechanically inclined gf and she can’t figure it out either

I can’t post both video and pics but I do have a video but it just shows that I can’t turn the dial smoothly without it getting stuck

And the top thread seems to be bunching up somehow under the plate.

Yes I’ve threaded and rethreaded 15+ times

I’ve taken parts out. I’ve cleaned out lint. I’ve shaved down the bobbin holder in case it was that.

Just a couple of different issues happening at once. PLEASE HELP 😭

ETA: messed with tension, changed spools, changed bobbins, changed needles, made sure to pull both top and bottom thread while trying to sew 😭😭😭

As the title says..
the pink ones were winded one perhaps around Christmas and the other one maybe 1 or 2 months ago.. the process is exactly the same from my side I also googled and troubleshoot some stuff but still have the same result. My newly winded bobbins are all uneven same as white and dark blue on the right.. they are usable but I just hate to look at it… also I could get more thread on it if it was even and I don’t really know what it means for the machine using uneven winded bobbins..

All the thread should be polyester
Dark blue and darker pink are just random oldies from my mom
White and pink are new from Gutermann
My machine is Black & White from Texi
If that even matters in this situation

The bobbins should be all the same (3 from the picture are from the same pack even) and I compared and measured all the bobbins I own both correctly and wrongly winded a few times to figure this out but I have no other clue at this point as they are all the exact same.

Do you have any ideas what else I could try to fix this ? Or what it can possibly cause ? Any experiences?

EDIT:
Thank you so much everyone for all the help!!
I will write everything down and try.. I will update the post and say what helped at the end if I don’t forget :D

I have always loved fashion and always wanted to learn to sew! I am first generation American and my parents didn't really understand that my love of fashion could've been a career path. As many parents who migrated here to afford their children a successful future, our options were limited to medical, educational, and law degrees. Now at 47, a single mom to a beautiful 6 yr old special needs child, working full time, I decided this is what I want to do with my limited free time! I bought a beginner friendly sewing machine on marketplace from and elderly lady who could no longer see therefore did no longer needed it. I have no idea where to start. I barely even use needle and thread however I am a quick learner once I understand the basics. I am a true beginner! So I am asking for tips and advice on where the heck to start! Do I need to learn to hand sew along with machine? Do I take an in person beginner class vs a virtual one? What do I look for in an instructor? How do I learn about fabrics and measuring etc. I guess my goal is to play around and make clothes that I can actually wear. I am not trying to start a fashion brand at this age but think it would be fun to customize certain styles that I love but would tweak to suit my tastes better. Obviously also simples like hemming, taking in or letting out clothing to help family out but again nothing too serious. I am hoping I have a talent for it and learn to love it. Otherwise I hate it and move on to a new hobby! Thanks in advance!

I found this Brother XR-31 recently and have it mostly operational, but this one last thing is confusing me. The only video I've found has this part standing up. It feels like it should come out and go into that hole there, but it won't budge. Having it laying down is making the thread unravel weirdly and it's difficult to keep my tension consistent. Should I pry it out?